Birding at the Valencian Coastal Wetlands.
On Tuesday 9th April, I was especially happy to provide a day of guided birding for a family from UK…especially happy as their young son came along on the trip and it´s always great to see children and young people getting involved and showing interest in nature. After meeting in Valencia city centre, we made the short trip to the coastal wetlands and after the obligatory morning coffee, we set out along the beach, behind which is a series of lagoons. We were fortunate enough to start the day with a Buzzard overhead closely followed by a Sedge Warbler in…
Guided Bird Watching in Valencia.
On Friday 22nd March, we provided a day of guided bird watching for a great couple of clients from the Netherlands who were on vacation here in Spain. Both keen nature lovers, they were eager to see the diverse bird life that the Valencian coastal wetlands holds, especially at this time of year when summer migrants are beginning to arrive. Our first stop was at a protected reserve within the natural park of Albufera de Valencia. We had excellent views of Purple Swamphen, Glossy Ibis, Avocet, Greater Flamingo and a small flock of passing Spoonbill. Recently arrived summer visitors included…
Guided Bird Watching at Albufera de Valencia.
On Wednesday 13th February, we had the pleasure of providing a leisurely day of guided birding for a couple from our local area together with their friends who were visiting from the UK. We chose to explore the lakes, lagoons and rice fields of Albufera de Valencia, a coastal wetland of international importance. Our first stop was by a small, sheltered lake and as soon as we got out of the van we were treated to a spectacular sight – a flock of over 500 Greater Flamingoes in flight, the pink, crimson and black of their plumage contrasting beautifully with…
Guided Bird Watching in Eastern Spain.
Last week, we provided two days of guided birding for a group of 4 clients from UK. To enjoy the diversity of habitat and bird life that this area offers, they had opted for a day at the Coastal Wetlands and a day on the Steppe and Lagoons in the interior of Eastern Spain. All well travelled nature lovers, the group was an absolute delight…knowledgeable and very good humoured. Owing to some unusually windy weather conditions we proposed a slight amendment to the itinerary for the first day, and following a short journey from their hotel, we were at the…
Great Bustards & Cranes.
On Friday 1st February, we provided a day of guided bird watching to the steppe and lagoons of Castilla de la Mancha in Eastern Spain for a couple from UK. Andrew and June were well travelled birders and had visited Spain many times. Their target species for this trip was the magnificent Great Bustard. We travelled from their hotel in the beautiful town of Xativa, heading up onto the high steppe. Although there was a strong wind blowing across the plains, the light quality was excellent. After a brief coffee stop in a farming village, we set out in the…
Bird Watching at Albufera de Valencia
On Tuesday 8th January, together with two local birders, I enjoyed a leisurely day in the Natural Park of Albufera de Valencia. We began our day by generally exploring some of the rice fields on the west side of the park. The usual Little Egrets, Cattle Egrets and Grey Herons were in abundance in amongst which were a five Great Egrets. A female Marsh Harrier passed low over the stubble, flushing out a Snipe. A pair of Stonechats were flitting around the edges of a field and an Iberian Grey Shrike spent a few minutes on an overhead cable close…